How often do you need to (re-)setup your bass?

[Turnaround]

Before every gig I tune my bass as well as checking and adjusting the relief. If I forget and play the first set and the action feels off, I tweak it between sets. If it takes more than one minute to do it's because somebody is bugging me and won't give me a moment's peace (darn groupies!). So I would say I check the relief every week and end up tweaking it about once a month. But I'm super fussy - I can feel the difference 2 thousandths of an inch makes in the action.

But you were asking about setup. There's more to a setup than a truss rod tweak. My instruments get a full set up twice a year.

Perhaps the problem is that the word "setup" means different things to different people. To me a setup is making changes to the instrument to optimize the playability for a particular player. That means identifying fret anomalies (the correction of which may not be covered in a conventional setup), nut adjustment, relief adjustment, string height adjustment, intonation and pickup height adjustment. Unless your playing style changes, you go to a different type, brand or gauge of strings, or you encounter fret wear, the only thing that should need adjustment after the initial setup is relief (truss rod adjustment).

So your frequency of setup will depend on how much you are playing and whether you are changing string brand, gauges or types. If you are sticking to the same strings, then you won't need a setup very often, but you might need relief adjustments multiple times a year.

 

[JRA]

Before every gig I tune my bass as well as checking and adjusting the relief. If I forget and play the first set and the action feels off, I tweak it between sets...... So I would say I check the relief every week and end up tweaking it about once a month. But I'm super fussy - I can feel the difference 2 thousandths of an inch makes in the action.

 

[pcake]

i'm in los angeles where we don't get extreme weather, and i mention this because i owned an ibanez SR500 for years and didn't need to set it up pretty much ever. a contributing factor could be that i use extra light strings.

occasionally it might need a very minor truss rod tweak, but not a set up.

 

[Chris Y]

I used to play an 83 ibanez musician, neck thru etc, never really had to touch it much apart from yearly setup. I lived in a area with fairly stable weather.
I now play a fender jazz mim player series and live in a place with only two seasons, wet and dry. Even in the dry season we have humidity changes of between 95 and 25 percent in one day. I find I have been needing to do minor trust rod adjustments every couple of days, I'm hoping it will settle down a bit soon. Makes me wonder if that great satin finish feel on the back of the neck has something to do with it

 

[Leo Thunder]

Makes me wonder if that great satin finish feel on the back of the neck has something to do with it

That's an interesting question. How much does the finish of a neck "seal" it from humidity? Does a thick, glossy finish make it more stable? Would a finish on top of a fingerboard add to this effect?

 

[MortenAP]

That's an interesting question. How much does the finish of a neck "seal" it from humidity? Does a thick, glossy finish make it more stable? Would a finish on top of a fingerboard add to this effect?

With a rosewood fingerboard I would guess that keeping it well oiled should reduce impact from changes in humidity?

 

[Turnaround]

That's an interesting question. How much does the finish of a neck "seal" it from humidity? Does a thick, glossy finish make it more stable? Would a finish on top of a fingerboard add to this effect?

1. Yes, to a degree, depending on the finish
2. Yes
3. Yes

However, a finish alone won't ensure that a neck won't react to humidity changes unless it's a completely waterproof finish that's thick.

 

[Chris Y]

1. Yes, to a degree, depending on the finish
2. Yes
3. Yes

However, a finish alone won't ensure that a neck won't react to humidity changes unless it's a completely waterproof finish that's thick.

The finish is what I was eluding to, MIM Jazz has high gloss maple fingerboard with satin fin on back of neck.
The old Ibanez was thick High gloss neck thru with Ebony fingerboard.
I do think the Jazz will settle down a bit over time.
I should also mention I like to set it low, so I notice the movements more than some.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

if it stiffness your linguini

I'm not really making sense of this, but I assume you're trying to tell me I don't know what a stiff neck is.
That would be incorrect, because I've been through my share of instruments with necks that were not stiff, so I can tell the difference.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I'm not really making sense of this, but I assume you're trying to tell me I don't know what a stiff neck is.
That would be incorrect, because I've been through my share of instruments with necks that were not stiff, so I can tell the difference.

No, I meant if it makes you happy/gets you excited (it's a sexual joke, son...).

 

[Turnaround]

With a rosewood fingerboard I would guess that keeping it well oiled should reduce impact from changes in humidity?

Oil is not particularly good at inhibiting moisture gain/loss. It's better than nothing, but not by much.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I wish we could somehow once & for all dispel this myth that oiling a fretboard moisturizes it. Everyone knows water & oil cannot mix.

 

[Badwater]

The part of the world I live in, is 110+ degrees in the summer, and 30s in the winter. With about 2 months of comfortable temperatures in the 60s to 90s. The humidity is pretty constant at 10 to 25% humidity. Not the ideal conditions for a hollow body acoustic. But for solid body electrics and basses, the only set up changes I make is tuning when the weather changes from hot to cold. Once the necks get use to the dry conditions, they stay pretty set. There is a very small change in the neck curve, but not enough to warrant a truss rod adjustment.

 

[MortenAP]

I wish we could somehow once & for all dispel this myth that oiling a fretboard moisturizes it. Everyone knows water & oil cannot mix.

No, but as oil and water cannot mix.... If you fill the pores af the Wood with oil it must somehow prevent them from being filled with water from the moisture in the air?

 

[Leo Thunder]

I wish we could somehow once & for all dispel this myth that oiling a fretboard moisturizes it. Everyone knows water & oil cannot mix.

I think the idea here is that oil on top of the fingerboard would isolate the rest from the outside and keep the status quo, thus contributing to stability.

Knowing that fingerboard wood is set to dry for ages before being used, I always felt that people remarking how dry their fingerboard came and how they had to do something about it were just looking for something to be smart about while showing they're not.

 

[Turnaround]

No, but as oil and water cannot mix.... If you fill the pores af the Wood with oil it must somehow prevent them from being filled with water from the moisture in the air?

Nice thought, but oil does very little to prevent the ingress/egress of water moisture. If you ever set a wet cup on a table top finished with oil you know about the mark it leaves. THat's water penetrating the oil finish. It will leave white rings on a lacquered dining table too, and that too is the moisture from the cup penetrating the finish. If the table was finished with poly you are far less likely to get a mark.

 

[sears]

I have never gotten a setup on a bass in 30 years of playing. I don't know what I'm missing!

 

[Leo Thunder]

I have never gotten a setup on a bass in 30 years of playing. I don't know what I'm missing!

I never "got a set-up" on any of my guitars either. I do it myself.

 

[Bassndrums73]

In Ohio with seasonal changes usually twice a year. I check the intonation more often though. Usually fall going into winter and sometime during spring.

 

[Petethebassman]

In Ohio with seasonal changes usually twice a year. I check the intonation more often though. Usually fall going into winter and sometime during spring.

Same setup schedule for me too, though living in Finland the temp and humidity changes between seasons can be extreme. In the coldest periods- usually in Jan/Feb it can get very dry with the amount of indoor heating needed.